Monique Creber

   Angela Kelman

   Steve Maddock

   David Steele

   Michael Creber

   (musical director,

     not shown)

Collectively and individually the members of Howe Sounds have performed and recorded with a wide range of renowned pop and jazz musicians, including The Nylons, The Rankin Family, Cher, Dee Daniels, Raffi, Farmer's Daughter, Michael Burgess, Susan Aglukark, Little Caesar, Shari Ulrich, Valdy, Bill Coon, Denzel Sinclaire and Kenny Werner.

As a group their easy chemistry and warm, humorous stage presence never fail to charm audiences, and leave them wanting more!

Howe Sounds performs with a variety of accompaniment situations ranging from one to many top quality musicians, depending on event, venue size and budget.

Monique Creber (Leader)

“The very best horns sound like a human voice, and the very best voices have the purity and power of a good horn. Monique Tougas Creber's voice is Stan Getz's saxophone: honey and warm butterscotch poured over the tip of an iceberg on a starry summer night.”

-- Spider Robinson, Author

A multi-talented vocalist, keyboardist, producer, songwriter and arranger, Monique began her musical career as a teenager in Winnipeg, where she grew up performing in a wide variety of events, including concerts, festivals, radio and television appearances, private functions and musicals. She also sang the anthems at the NHL Winnipeg Jets games. In 1991, Monique released her first original single, “The Magic of Christmas,” which was well received by radio stations across Canada. In 1992, she directed and performed with a keyboard quartet that represented Canada at the Technics World Music Festival in London, England. After moving to Vancouver in 1993, Monique added jazz to her list of vocal styles and has since performed in the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, among many other gigs in that genre. In 2000 she released her first solo CD, All For You, featuring 11 original tracks written by Monique, producer/husband Michael Creber and arranger Robert Messier. As a session singer, Monique has recorded backing vocals on albums for several Vancouver-based artists including Raffi, as well as material for the 2000 Grey Cup Half-time Show, many jingles and vocal tracks for the Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show. Monique’s vocals were recently featured on the soundtrack of an episode of the popular television drama The Collector, which later won several Leo Awards including Best Musical Score in a Dramatic Series. Besides performing and her family, Monique currently divides her time between studio sessions, consulting, teaching and producing “The Magic of Christmas,” the annual benefit concert she created in Winnipeg in 1986 and moved to the West Coast in 1994. Since then the show has become a Vancouver institution, expanding from a small show at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre to a full-scale production involving a cast of hundreds. Over the past several years the show has raised close to $40,000 for families in need throughout BC..

Monique formed Howe Sounds out of a desire to create a Manhattan Transfer-style vocal ensemble, one whose members were not only talented soloists, but also extremely versatile harmony singers. She is thrilled to have found three like-minded vocalists who can perform a challenging variety of tunes from various eras, in arrangements with more depth and complexity than the usual solo-with-back-up-vocals format.

“She’s Vancouver ace pianist Michael Creber’s wife and possesses a voice eerily similar to the late and great Karen Carpenter. The style is easy listening…the singing and production are tops. ”

-- John P. McLaughlin – The Province (review of Monique’s solo album All For You )

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Angela Kelman

“… smooth, sultry Latin rhythms… her vocals are impeccable….”

– Darryl Krause, Music for the Soul

A prairie girl from Manitoba and a graduate (with honours) of The Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, Angela is best known for her work with the internationally successful Canadian country trio Farmer’s Daughter. The group has two gold albums to its credit, as well as a Juno Award, two CCMA Awards, Big Country Awards, and numerous BCCMA and West Coast Music Awards. Farmer's Daughter has appeared regularly on such television shows as Canada AM , Pamela Wallin Live , CBC Newsworld , Mike Bullard , Vicki Gabereau , Dini Petty and It's A Living. The group's twelve videos are also in heavy rotation on CMT. Currently Angela is turning her eclectic musical sensibility, lovely voice and warm wit not only towards Howe Sounds but also towards solo projects such as her bossa nova-flavoured CD Café Brasilia and performances with her 70s retro band, The Polyester Philharmonic.

“Slinky, sultry and really sensational. Angela Kelman… infused some breathy bossa nova into Donald Black and Mark London's To Sir With Love…”

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Steve Maddock

“Maddock’s got a suede-smooth, toffee-sweet voice…”

Colin Thomas, The Georgia Straight

Since his arrival in BC fifteen years ago, Steve Maddock has been steadily establishing himself as one of Vancouver's elite vocal talents. His unique versatility allows him to work as an actor, singer and music educator, covering numerous styles and genres along the way. Some recent solo engagements include baritone soloist in Carmina Burana, guest appearances with both Vancouver Chamber Choir and Chor Leoni Men's Choir, and numerous jazz and pop performances in and around the Lower Mainland – including appearances with vocal quartet Howe Sounds. He has an extensive discography, most recently lending his folk stylings to Chor Leoni's Canadian Safari II. Some recent acting roles include "Gaston" in Beauty and the Beast, "Man #1" in Songs for a New World, "Billy Bigelow" in Carousel, and "El Gallo" in The Fantasticks. Steve lives in Burnaby with his wife, singer/pianist Siri Olesen, and four year old daughter, Aubrey Joy.

“Steve is one of Vancouver’s finest jazz singers… what a great voice!”

– Renee Dorrutyers, The Province

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David Steele

“David Steele is one of the finest vocalists I have ever had the pleasure of working with. His soulful sound, which soars flawlessly into an almost super-humanly high range, has never failed to move me.”

– Michael Creber, Pianist/Composer/Producer

David Steele is a talented singer and songwriter, known for his powerful stage presence and awe-inspiring vocal range. He has recorded with a most impressive list of artists, including Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, The Cult, David Lee Roth, Cher, Bob Rock, London Quireboys, Little Caesar, Loverboy and Blue Murder. He recently wrote or co-wrote eight songs for Prophecy Entertainment, and recorded for the soundtrack of the movie Ripper with his band Smudged Ink and writer/producer Dave Devindisch of “DDT.” He has also worked with guitarist/song writer David Sinclair (Straight Lines, Sarah McLachlan). In addition, David sang on Disney’s So Weird and did two songs for the movies North of Pittsburgh and Air Bud World Pup . He appeared on TV’s Nightman and is presently writing and performing in Vancouver.

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Michael Creber (Musical Director, Piano/Keyboards)

“…a cross between Floyd Cramer and Thelonius Monk.”

-- The LA Times, reviewing Michael’s work on k.d. lang’s Absolute Torch & Twang

Michael Creber is one of the West Coast’s most sought-after musicians, both on stage and in the recording studio. He pursues a wide-ranging career as a keyboardist, composer and producer, embracing many areas of popular music including jazz, Latin, R&B, rock, pop, musical theatre, country and folk. After recording and touring internationally with the Irish Rovers from 1981 to 1986 (including 36 episodes of Global TV’s Party With the Rovers), Michael went on to become one of k.d. lang 's “Reclines.” During the next four years he toured extensively and appeared with k.d. on the Johnny Carson Show, Arsenio Hall, Saturday Night Live, the Grammy Awards, Vicki Gabereau, Super Dave, The Smothers Brothers and Austin City Limits. Michael has also toured, recorded and produced with world-renowned family entertainer Raffi; he co-produced and co-wrote Raffi's 1994 CD Bananaphone (which won a Juno Award and was nominated for a Grammy), and also worked on his other albums Raffi Radio and Let’s Play. Michael has worked with a long list of other artists including: The Rankin Sisters, David Foster, Shirley Bassey, Powder Blues, John Sebastian, Roger Miller, Charlotte Diamond, Roy Forbes, Shari Ulrich, Phil Nimmons, Charo Jim Byrnes, Dee Daniels, Kate Hammett-Vaughn, June Katz, Christine Duncan, Connie Kaldor, Norman Foote, Valdy, Lee Aaron and, most recently, Martin Short and Joan Rivers. He currently maintains a busy schedule of producing, performing, teaching and composing for film, television and radio.  

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